ASSIGNMENTS:
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Camellia
San Diego, California USA
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REPORTS:
PREVIOUS NEXT
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Advice to Camellia at 13:
1. Keep writing in your journal. It will be invaluable five years later. You will change drastically, but you'll be glad that you'll have preserved this part of you.
2. When Eric C. tells you in November that carrying around your own thesaurus is "sad," do NOT sit there and blush. Look him straight in the eye, screw your courage to the sticking point, and say slowly so that he can understand you: "Eric, do you really think I care what you think? Get over yourself." Then tell him to find as many synonyms of "narcissistic" as he can find.
3. You think that teasing Leslie is all in good fun. You think she knows this. It's almost too easy to mock her and make a joke of her life, but please don't. It will have a lasting negative effect on her, and you will regret it, especially in your junior and senior years of high school when all her inner anger emerges. You will find that she will never forgive you. You will experience guilt and the feeling of irretrievable moments when you could have refrained.
4. Discourage Leslie from sending Marcus that valentine. It will creep him out, and she will regret it. You will suspect these things but you'll tell her to send it anyway. Be a little more compassionate, okay?
5. Later in the school year, you will decide that you don't want to be friends with Becca anymore. What took you so long? This is a wise decision that should be made earlier, at the beginning of the school year, if possible.
6. Speaking of Becca, don't go to Disneyland with her. You will have a terrible time. It's not worth the free pass your mom has been saving for years.
7. I know you feel flattered when Chris talks to you. But you need to learn how to start your own conversations. Speak up! You don't have to be socially inept. Do not accept the general opinion that you're somehow inferior to everyone else. You're not. You're smart, witty, clever. As you open your mouth and speak slowly - focusing on not stuttering - people will notice these things about you. You can change people's minds. You can make new friends. Other people might not get grades as high as yours, but they're still worthwhile people.
8. It's a good thing that you like Matt. Talk to him. Befriend him. I know he seems weird and different, but he'll grow up to be interesting and open-minded. However, he'll think it's cool to abuse all kinds of substances. If you befriend him and get him to respect you, maybe your good influence will save his health and school record in the long run. And you two have more in common than you think.
9. You will think it's weird when Dad buys you an acoustic guitar for Christmas. It's not weird. It's awesome! Start taking lessons now and listening to bands that play their own music. Music is cool. If you learn this now, it will help you in your social predicaments.
10. Stop listing in your head the boys you like and boys you dislike. Right now, it doesn't matter. Concentrate instead on being a good friend - and on making new friends. Expand the circle you have drawn around yourself. It's okay to walk into what scares you. It's good for you.
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